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Apartheid/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim is drawing on poster board with colored pens. On the wall is a picture of Nelson Mandela. Moby joins him. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, I'm making a Freedom Day poster. Tim's poster has a South African flag, and the words, "April 27, South Africa, Freedom Day." Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What is apartheid? From, Charles. Apartheid was South Africa's policy of racial discrimination from 1948 to 1994. An image of a world map shows the nation of South Africa, at the southernmost tip of the continent of Africa. TIM: Apartheid means "separateness" in Afrikaans, the main language of South Africa. An image appears of two silhouettes, one light and one dark, separated by a dotted line. Their backs are to each other. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It's similar to Dutch, which is what the first European settlers spoke. A map shows Europe, Western Asia, and Africa. The country of Holland is labelled. A dotted line displays the sea-route from Holland, down the western African coast, to South Africa. TIM: Before getting colonized by Europeans, Africa had no white people. An image shows a ship arriving on a South African beach. It is flying a Dutch flag. Two native South Africans watch as it approaches. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, sort of like the American Indians in the New World. An image appears of two American Indians watching the arrival of Christopher Columbus’ ship. TIM: And just like America, the Europeans ended up controlling most of the land. By the end of the nineteenth century, South Africa was controlled by the British, and eventually gained its independence in 1910. The map of Europe, Western Asia, and Africa reappears. The nations of Great Britain and South Africa are labelled. There is a British flag next to each of them. Then the British flag next to South Africa is replaced with a South African flag. TIM: But its government was run by the descendants of the European settlers and they only gave other whites suffrage, or the right to vote. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It was a lot like the discrimination against black people here in the U.S. before the Civil Rights movement. But in South Africa, the discrimination went a lot further. An image shows a black female being blocked by an armed white policeman from entering a polling place where a white woman is voting. TIM: Starting in the 1940s, the National Party, South Africa's ruling party, began to pass laws against any mixing between blacks and whites. The symbol of South Africa's National Party is shown. TIM: The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act in 1949 made it illegal for people of different races to get married. An image appears of a black man and a white woman, facing each other. Both have their eyes closed and are hanging their heads sadly. A dotted line appears, separating them. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah. TIM: And in 1950, the Population Registration Act classified all South Africans into three groups: An image appears with figures representing people of different races. TIM: Black, or Bantu; White; and Colored, or people of mixed ancestry. Ten figures are reconfigured into the three groups: six Black, two White, and two Colored. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Even though the whites had the smallest population, they had all the power. The label "White" and the two figures in that group become larger, while the other two groups become smaller. TIM: Once the different groups were defined, more laws were passed to separate the races. Even little things like drinking fountains, bathrooms, and park benches were separated by law. A split image appears. Restrooms are marked “whites” and “non-whites” and in the lower image, park benches are labeled “Europeans” and “non-Europeans.” MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, conditions were not separate but equal. Only whites were allowed a good education and the right to work in skilled jobs. A split image appears. On the left is a white man in a suit, working in an office. On the right is a black man doing construction work, sweating, and holding a shovel. TIM: Areas where black people lived often lacked electricity and even plumbing. Many black people even had their South African citizenship taken away. An image appears of a rundown urban area. A black man and a black woman are seen walking by. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know. It's all pretty awful. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, yeah, people were trying to fight it. TIM: The United Nations officially condemned apartheid in 1962. An animation appears of the United Nations building, with the flags of many nations flapping in the wind. TIM: Many countries boycotted South African businesses, and their sports teams were often banned from competing in international games. Images appear of various fruits and sports equipment. Then red cross-out symbols appear over the images. TIM: Inside South Africa, riots and protests were pretty common, but they were often savagely crushed by the National Party government. Images appear of blacks staging a protest then policemen hitting the protestors with clubs. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, hang on. A lot of South African whites knew apartheid was unfair. In the 1980s, South Africa's president, Pieter Willem Botha, repealed many of the apartheid laws. An image shows Pieter Willem Botha. TIM: But it just wasn't enough. Unrest grew worse. The image of protesting blacks reappears. TIM: Then, in 1990, the government ended its censorship of the media, An image appears of a radio, a newspaper, and a television. TIM: and freed its political prisoners. One of those freed was Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid freedom fighter who'd been arrested in 1962. During his 27-year imprisonment, Mandela had become a rallying point for anti-apartheid fighters across the world. An image appears of Nelson Mandela. His face is part of a poster captioned, "Free Nelson Mandela and All South African Political Prisoners." TIM: In 1992, the last whites-only vote in South Africa's congress led to a new constitution that gave the right to vote to everyone. An image appears of the 1993 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The words "people of all races" are highlighted. TIM: The newly-free South Africans elected Nelson Mandela president on April 27, 1994. An image appears of Nelson Mandela, elected as South Africa's president. A group cheer can be heard. TIM: Every April 27th is celebrated as Freedom Day. An image appears of Tim's Freedom Day poster. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it's important to remember that discrimination and racism aren't just things of the past. Tim holds up his poster. TIM: Hey, how do you like my poster? With a marker, Moby draws an exclamation point after the words "Freedom Day." Then he pats Tim affectionately on the head. 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